Nintendo confirms Wii replacement in 2012; Preview at E3 2011

Nintendo has announced [pdf link] it will release its next games console, the successor to the Wii, in 2012, with the first preview of the new hardware at E3 2011 in early June. Confirmed in a new investor note, the unnamed console – referred to in rumors as the Wii 2 – will seemingly drop sometime after March 2012, given Nintendo has not included it in its current financial forecasts.

Specifications of the Wii 2 are unknown at present, though recent leaks suggested a so-called Project Cafe – and the potential launch name Nintendo Stream – which would mark Nintendo’s stepping up to HD gaming. The Stream would come with wireless controllers each featuring 6.2-inch touchscreen displays, which could show individual gameplay views or other personalized data.

Alternatively, GameKyo [via CVG] reports that Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto suggested this weekend that the Wii 2/Stream could use the Nintendo 3DS as a controller. The developer confirmed Nintendo had been exploring ways the 3DS could be connected with its “future home console.”

Press Release:

Re: Wii’s successor system

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.

We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.